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US Airways Group president Scott Kirby said today that he thinks rival Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has changed its pricing strategy.

Kirby said Southwest is targeting fare increases and sales, which can be “a little hard to understand” for most people but seems smart to airline insiders.

An analyst during US Airways’ third-quarter earnings conference call today asked Kirby if he noticed “anything strange in [Southwest's] behavior.”

Kirby responded: “I think Southwest has changed in the last several years, and we do see more tactical initiatives as opposed … to just fare increases or fare sales, and so from our perspective seems rational and intelligent. Some of the things are a little hard to understand.”

A similar question popped up last week on Southwest’s third-quarter earnings conference call.

An analyst (not the same one) asked if Southwest was facing internal pressures because its fare increase on the heels of a recent deep winter sale seemed contradictory.

Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly said there were no competing forces at play. He explained that Southwest’s sales are based on where it sees market weakness.

Earlier this month, Southwest launched a winter sale with some fares discounted by 40 percent. Around the same time, the carrier refused to match United Airlines’ fare hike, which failed.

Within days, however, Southwest revived the increase, raising its fares up to $10 round trip. Many other airlines followed suit.

Also on the Southwest call, chief financial officer Tammy Romo said the airline has implemented five fare increases this year, but “had to work hard to stimulate demand in the current economy environment.”